Just a Taste
by havarti2
Summary: A series of drabbles ranging from heavy angst to fluff so sweet it'll rot your teeth. Inspired by Shiary's "Food, Honor, and Lessons Learnt". Cross-posted on AO3.
1. Final

**Drabble word: Final**

Komatsu lay there, unable to move while the fight raged around him. The Four Heavenly Kings were trying to get to him, to help him, but their foes were just too much to ignore for even a moment. He tried to stay awake, but fatigue is a powerful force. Every so often, his eyelids drooped before he'd blink himself awake.

Komatsu's mind started to wander: what would have happened if this encounter never happened? The answer was simple, really: the quartet of Kings and their little chef would have gotten the ingredient that they set out to capture in the first place, eaten it on the spot, then went home happy with another successful adventure under their belts.

A sudden silence broke Komatsu from his thoughts. His blurred vision showed the Kings standing over their unconscious enemies, beaten and bloody, but still standing tall and proud as ever. A gust of wind blew over the battlefield, snapping the Kings out of their reveries and sprinting over to the fallen chef.

 _Their_ fallen chef.

Their _Komatsu_.

Sunny and Coco immediately started inspecting him for injuries while Toriko stayed as close as he could without interfering with the impromptu medical examination. Zebra stood watch in case anything attacked them. Someone had to keep their guard up, after all.

For a moment, everything was still.

For a moment, everything was _okay_.

That is, until it wasn't.

The Kings could feel it. Something wasn't right. Something that they couldn't fix. Tears welled up in Sunny's eyes. Coco's breath hitched. Zebra whirled around, eyes wide in fear. Toriko's heart skipped a beat.

Komatsu wasn't going to make it.

Their chef, no, their best friend and _partner_ , wasn't going to make it.

Komatsu looked up at them with bleary eyes. He met their gazes one at a time, deliberately forcing eye contact from each and every one of his friends.

"Sunny-san, Coco-san, Zebra-san, Toriko-san. Please don't cry… smile, please…"

The Kings tried to. They really tried, but they just couldn't stop the tears that slipped down their cheeks onto the ground below.

"I… I want you to achieve your dreams… for me… You've all made me so, so proud… I'm so happy… that I've met… you all…" Tears spilled down Komatsu's own face as he mustered up a smile. His eyes closed.

Then he was gone.

Stolen right from under the grasp of The Four Heavenly Kings.

 _His_ Four Heavenly Kings.

The quartet couldn't move. They couldn't _breathe_. Komatsu was gone. The reality of the situation hadn't even sunk in yet; they just stood there in shock, sobbing.

Their cries were earth-shattering.

Sunny wove his feelers around the little chef, tasting as much as he could, trying to burn the feeling into his mind so he would never, ever lose it. Komatsu was so beautiful. In an instant, it had vanished.

Coco cried as he ran a hand through Komatsu's hair. The chef was the only one who showed him that it was okay: that it was okay to trust, to interact with others. That it was okay to love.

Zebra turned away. Komatsu was supposed to be his partner, damnit! He was supposed to go on hunts with him, lots and lots of hunts. Komatsu was supposed to be the one to cook is Full Course. Yet Death took him away. Zebra swore that one day, he'd overcome Death, the cocky bastard that took Komatsu away from him.

Toriko wrapped his arms around his partner. He had once told Komatsu that the past didn't matter, that they should only look towards the future. He regretted saying that now. The past _did_ matter. After all, the past is where he still had Komatsu.

Where they _all_ had Komatsu.

 **~o0o~**

 **Angst galore, everyone. Here's to hoping the next drabble is fluffy and cute.**


	2. Bland

**Drabble word: Bland**

"It's so… bland."

"Yes, Sunny-san. There's a reason for that."

"It doesn't have any harmony at all."

"Sunny-san please."

"It's icky."

"SUNNY-SAN."

Komatsu sighed. The fashionista of the Four Heavenly Kings certainly wasn't making it any easier for himself. Sunny had come down with something, and Mansam had called Komatsu to take care of him. Mansam told him over the phone that Sunny refused to have anyone else and specifically requested for him by name. Komatsu just got off work when he got the call. He'd rushed over to the Biotope as quickly as he could to help his friend.

Sunny, as one could imagine, was not a happy camper. This was the first time Komatsu had seen him looking so… _miserable_ : his pajamas were unkempt and wrinkled, his face was flushed with fever, his eyes had _visible_ bags underneath them, and his hair was literally flying everywhere.

In short, Sunny looked like a complete and utter mess. He wasn't making it any easier for himself, either.

"Matsuuuuu, why can't it be more beautiful?" He whined, pushing the spoon of soup away with his feelers.

"Because, Sunny-san, it would be too much for your stomach to handle and you'd throw up."

Sunny pouted.

Komatsu just sighed again. He was doing that a lot today.

"Please, Sunny-san? We can eat something beautiful once you get better, but until then, would you please eat this?" The little chef was close to begging.

"...Fine, but only because I want to eat foods with harmony. Not this… blandness." Sunny grumbled as he took the spoon in his mouth.

"There you go. The sooner you eat, the sooner you get better." Komatsu mumbled as Sunny ate.

Soon after the Heavenly King finished the bowl, he started to drift off. Komatsu smiled a little, much like how Coco would.

"Goodnight, Sunny-san. I hope you get better soon." Komatsu whispered as he left the room, shutting off the light and closing the door silently.

 **~o0o~**

 **Hey sorry for not updating! Writer's block has been really bad and I've only been able to write really late at night for some odd reason ^^; But here's the chapter!**


	3. Inquiry

**Drabble word: Inquiry**

After recreating the Century Soup, Komatsu learned something rather valuable: you can never get away from reporters, especially if you're friends with one. He had practice evading them over time, but sometimes he couldn't dodge their endless questions.

"CHEF KOMATSU!"

" _Oh boy, there's another one…_ " Komatsu thought to himself in slight annoyance. He turned to face the 'reporter'. To his surprise, the reporter was just a teenaged boy with a camera and a notepad.

"Yes?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Can I help you?"

"I, uh, yes?" The boy stammered. "I need to write a report about a chef for school, and you're a big inspiration of mine… could I ask for a couple minutes of your time?"

Komatsu was touched. This boy looked up to him so much, how could he say no? "Of course! Ask as many questions as you like." He smiled, and the boy's face lit up.

"Thank you so much!"

The impromptu interview lasted longer than Komatsu expected, but he had all afternoon and the boy was so excited. Komatsu answered his questions easily, none of them were too difficult.

"Thank you again, Chef Komatsu! Before I go, I have one final question for you." The boy looked him dead in the eye.

"Alright, what is it?" Komatsu asked.

"What do you think of each of the Four Heavenly Kings?"

A beat of silence overtook the two. "...What do I think of them?" Komatsu mumbled.

"Yes, that's right."

"Well, let's see… I guess… Zebra-san is strong and a bit reckless and he tries to do what's right, even if others think that it's wrong or that it shouldn't be done. He was a little intimidating when I first met him, but that was only because I didn't know him as well as I do now. He's actually very kind, even if he is a little coy sometimes. Sunny-san is rather… flamboyant and makes his own rules. He likes beautiful things and he's very beautiful himself. However, his timing needs a bit of work, he's usually late when going to events. Under his aloof facade, he cares about his friends very much and he's always genuine in whatever he does. Coco-san is very gentle. He's kind to everyone he meets and he's incredibly intelligent. He's reserved and doesn't often interact with people, because he's afraid that he'd hurt them by accident, but I don't agree with that. I know he's got complete control and doesn't realize it. Finally, Toriko-san..."

Komatsu paused, then smiled to himself.

"Toriko-san is the best partner I could ever hope for. He's kind and strong and he always takes good care of me. He's a good leader and a great friend. All the adventures I've been on with him have been crazy and dangerous, but I've loved every single one of them, even if I've nearly died a couple times. He's just as reckless as Zebra-san, as genuine as Sunny-san, and as kind as Coco-san. He's… he's something else. I'm grateful that I've made friends with all of them, they are an irreplaceable part of my life and I'm glad that I met them."

The boy looked at him in wonder before blinking himself out of his stupor and scribbling everything down on his little notepad. When he finished, he looked up at Komatsu with a giant grin.

"Thank you so much, Chef Komatsu! If you'd like, I can ask my teacher for an extra copy so you can read it." The boy offered.

"I'd like that very much, thank you! Once it's done, you can swing by the Hotel and drop it off. Don't be afraid to stay for a meal." Komatsu replied.

"Thank you!" The boy smiled and bowed, before running off in the direction of the bus stop.

Komatsu smiled to himself again and continued his walk to the Hotel where he would meet his Four Heavenly Kings for a hunt.

 **~o0o~**

 **Here's chapter 3! I had some random inspiration to get this done, so here it is!**


	4. Anger

It took quite a bit to anger a kind, patient, gentle, sweet man like Komatsu. It was a rare sight whenever he showed true, unadulterated rage, but when it happened, everyone around knew to stay far, far away from the chef.

It's never a big event that can irritate Komatsu. He had the patience of a saint when it came to ordeals that ended up with broken plates and thrown fists and cutlery. It was never the things you would expect him to be irritated by.

No, it was the little things.

Little things like extra rowdy customers, ones who threw their meals on the dining room carpet because they didn't enjoy it.

Little things like being belittled by other chefs and snobby instructors in his training days when he was young.

Little things like Sunny and Zebra and Toriko screaming at each other over dinner when he had a headache or was too bone-deep exhausted to ignore it any longer.

"ONE OF THESE DAYS, 'MATSU'S GOING TO DUMP YOUR DISGUSTING FACE TO BE MY PARTNER!"

"Sunny, please…"

"YOU ASSHOLE, THE BRAT'S GONNA BE MY PARTNER!"

"Zebra."

"FOR THE LAST TIME, KOMATSU IS MY PARTNER AND NEITHER OF YOU TWO CAN HAVE HIM!"

Komatsu closed his eyes and sucked a sharp breath in through his nose. Coco, still trying to ease the tension of the other three Kings, glanced over to the subject of their argument, a shadow of… something tracing his features. The others continued their screaming match, progressively getting louder and closer to each other.

" **THAT'S ENOUGH!"** Komatsu shouted over the squabbling Gourmet Hunters, stabbing his Melk Knife into the cutting board as he did so. The Four Heavenly Kings instantly froze and whirled around to face him, eyes wide.

" **YOU THREE HAVE BEEN SHOUTING FOR TOO LONG, SO BE QUIET!"** Komatsu seethed, eyes wild and teeth bared. Sunny turned his gaze down in shame. Zebra averted his eyes over his shoulder. Toriko gave a sheepish half-smile and raised his hands in a placating manner. He opened his mouth to apologize, and immediately closed it when Komatsu's glare sharpened even further.

Toriko slumped back in his chair, resigned to sitting in silence until Komatsu calmed down. Apologies would come later, along with some rare ingredients. He was sure the others would bring Komatsu apology gifts as well, they were very similar after all.

For now, however, he waited.


End file.
